Narela firecracker death: boy, 10, dies after anar explodes on Diwali night

A 10-year-old boy died in Delhi’s Narela on Diwali night after a firecracker he was bursting outside his home exploded and hit his chest. Delhi Police say it was a hand-held anar, or flower-pot firecracker, that went off at around 9:45 pm on Sunday (8 November). The family tells it differently and has alleged that the hospital did not treat him properly. Police are investigating.

According to police, the boy was holding the anar when it exploded and injured his chest. Police told India Today he died on the spot. At around 10:50 pm, the hospital informed police that the boy had been brought dead with burn injuries caused by the explosion. His body has been sent for a post-mortem examination, and police said further proceedings are under way. The Indian Express and India Today reported the police account on Monday (9 November).

His mother says it did not happen that way. Speaking to news agency ANI, she said he was bursting anars and sky shots when one hit him from behind. “My son was bursting crackers; everyone was doing so. While he was bursting anar and sky shots, one hit him from behind, striking his chest. It struck his arteries; he was still breathing, so we rushed him to the hospital. They did not treat him well; in fact, they tried to scare and threaten us. I want justice,” she told ANI. NDTV and other outlets reported that the family took the boy to a hospital in Narela, where he was declared dead.

The boy’s elder brother also alleged that the hospital did not do enough. “My brother could have been saved. I know he was still breathing. They did not do anything to save him,” he alleged, according to India Today. He told reporters that the family had first thought the boy had only a minor burn, until he fainted and they rushed him to hospital on a scooter, The Indian Express reported. He further alleged that the family was not allowed to take the body and that police moved it elsewhere. Police said the body was sent for post-mortem.

These are the family’s allegations. They have not been proved, and the hospital’s response was not available in the reports The Indian Idiot reviewed. Police have not said whether the family’s account of a sky shot hitting the boy from behind matches what they found, or what kind of firecracker it was. The Indian Idiot is not naming the boy or his family.